|
|
Post by Baconator on Jul 2, 2013 4:20:54 GMT -7
I've been thinking about this little item for a few months now and after last night's outdoor show where my Ghia was struggling to keep up I think it might be the perfect addition to a Ghia. What the Unleash does is attenuate down to line level then reamplify the attenuated signal with a 100 watt class d amplifier so basically you can use any amp anywhere between 1 and 100 watts. Given this little box would allow me to cover any playing situation from bedroom level to outdoor shows and is less than the cost of a new cabinet I think I may have to give it a shot. Anyone have direct experience with one? |
|
|
|
Post by John on Jul 2, 2013 5:39:48 GMT -7
But how often do you play those shows where the Ghia can't keep up? And is your Ghia a head or combo...and what speaker are you normally using? I ask all that, because it seems like a lot of money to spend on just a few gigs.
You could use a more efficient speaker. You could tilt the cabinet back to point at you.
While I have not played one, I would think the 'feel' of attenuating down, then amplifying back up would be different.
I had one gig recently where the Ghia was not quite enough, but our stage volume was deafening. (glad I had my ear plugs) So called "pro sound". Monitors were too loud, PA/subs were 3 feet from me. (TOO much bass) Played with a hard hitting drummer. I just shrugged it off. I'm not going to throw money at the 'once in a while' gigs. If I had to do it again, I would have tilted the amp back. That would have helped a lot. (or asked for a little guitar in the monitor, but they were already way too loud.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Jul 2, 2013 6:20:29 GMT -7
Good points, John. This is the third gig where my Ghia has had some issues keeping up: 2 of which were outdoor shows and 1 was in a club with pretty terrible sound. I use a single 12 cabinet with a V30. I could probably get a little more volume with a different speaker, but I'm not sure this is a safer bet than the Unleash. I understand the concern with a loss in tone from reamplifying an attenuated signal, but the reviews I've read have been pretty overwhelmingly positive. I just think for $350 (which is what the local dealer is charging) this would allow me to use the Ghia in any situation without having to worry about having too little (or too much) volume.
I've played with different setups trying to get the best sound on stage and I'm not sure how much having my cab on stand tilted up towards me really helped. It does seem to get more upper mids to my ears which definitely helps, but it seems like I'm losing more fundamental. to be clear, I'm being really picky here and could get by without adding anything to my rig. That said, I'm pretty much guaranteed to be doing a number of outdoor, multi-band shows where no sound check and no familiarity with the sound men are the norm.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Jul 2, 2013 7:28:44 GMT -7
This kinda reminds me of the Magnus Ultimate attenuator that's been out there for a while, in a sense that the Magnus puts your amp into a 100% dummy load and then re-amplifies the signal using a low-output audio amp to your speaker. It seems that Bad Cat has taken this concept and expanded it to go both quieter AND louder. Perhaps anyone who has experience with the Magnus can comment on feel, transparency, etc..?
In concept, though, the Unleash seems like a good idea—I mean, theoretically you could use your 150W monster triple-rectifier at everything from stadium shows to your bedroom closet. Too good to be true? Quite possibly, but there's probably a legit use for it in certain situations, probably like what the OP has described.
|
|
|
|
Post by match on Jan 27, 2014 22:44:39 GMT -7
I recently purchased a Bad Cat Unleash, and I'm still on the fence about it. I like it. I got it because I wanted to always be able to use the tone of my Ghia, but louder as I play with another guitarist who dimes his 59 Bassman reissue, and makes me play loudness war. I played a gig with the above mentioned guitarist, who actually braught a Vibrolux combo, even less watts and speakers, and I had to crank the Unleash up to paint peeling volume to keep up. I don't enjoy playing at such high volumes. The Unleash is very transparent, and doesn't have the unnatural feel some attentuators that I have used have. I've owned the THD Hotplate, and still own the Brake lite. Hope this helps those looking at the Unleash. I also love the FX loop, and the 2 footswitchable channels. I've been playing animal clubs and small venues, no micing of the amps, and the odd summer festival BTW.
|
|
|
|
Post by meanslide on Jan 28, 2014 13:39:51 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by uncleebeneezer on Jun 22, 2014 17:33:26 GMT -7
But how would that work? My band is loud enough that I have to have my Ghia at about 10-10:30 just to hear myself. At that position, my tone is starting to break up (especially if I'm picking/strumming hard.) Wouldn't any clean boost still push the amp over the edge? |
|
|
|
Post by digiTED aka 'Ted' on Jun 22, 2014 21:10:48 GMT -7
I've had my Unleash for maybe a little over a year. I give it a 9 out of 10. It delivers as promised with very good tone quality. I've never used an attenuation device this transparent., though the Air Brake is no slouch! I only let mine go after getting the Unleash.
It's build is solid and I've found Bad Cat's support after the sale nearly on par with Dr. Z, that is to say excellent.
My only bone to pick regards the FX loop. It does work as advertised so any amp now has an FX patch right before the final output. Delays of course sound killer as do clean boosts. My issue is that true-bypass pedals will make a loud POP when engaged/disengaged. If you run a buffer or buffered pedal at the end of chain in the loop then it's dead quiet. I picked up a Boss DD-7 to run in the loop and it sounds perfect.
True-bypass pedals do not make the pop if in front of your amp or in your amp's loop, only if in the Unleash loop.
Bad Cat bent over backwards trying to fix the issue and finally made a 1Mohm inline buffer to plug into the rerun jack on my Unleash's loop. I wish it didn't have the issue at all, but I do feel they worked hard to make things right.
I can't imagine Dr. Z gear would ever have such a problem, but I think it's a very easy work-around to solve the one issue I've had with an otherwise killer product.
|
|
|
|
Post by jesslm02 on Jun 22, 2014 21:24:14 GMT -7
Do you loose the feel of the amp like you do with some attenuators?
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards
|
|
|
|
Post by digiTED aka 'Ted' on Jun 22, 2014 22:47:22 GMT -7
Do you loose the feel of the amp like you do with some attenuators? Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards Not at all IMO. My Ghia and Germino as well as my old Antidote and Remedy all kept their clean to mean dynamics. |
|
|
|
Post by doctorice on Jun 23, 2014 7:34:50 GMT -7
I recently picked one up here on BST. I haven't used it a lot, but it seems to work as advertised. My main reason for buying it was to have the attenuation and effects loop option to use with amps like the Antidote and 6545.
I didn't notice any compromise in "feel."
|
|
|
|
Post by jesslm02 on Jun 23, 2014 9:11:16 GMT -7
I just know that some amps with some attenuators have a "spongy" or compressed character as a side effect of attenuating too much. I find this to be the case with my brake lite SA but it's not as noticeable with the full size airbrake.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards
|
|
51d
Junior Member
Posts: 95 
|
Post by 51d on Jun 23, 2014 14:36:27 GMT -7
I just know that some amps with some attenuators have a "spongy" or compressed character as a side effect of attenuating too much. I find this to be the case with my brake lite SA but it's not as noticeable with the full size airbrake. 'fraid I agree with this analysis. I persevered with a THD Hotplate for a year before throwing in the towel; it altered the basic sound to such an extent that the touch responsiveness one gets off a decent amp wholly evaporated. Suggest the more efficient speaker route, or simply recalibrating the entire band's volume to rediscover the wonderful dynamics of low wattage rockabilly amps and a mean attitude...the devices that are offered to work some miracle with problematic sound/volume issues often fail to deliver, as they operate in contradiction of basic physics. |
|
|
|
Post by Dannydny on Jun 24, 2014 19:50:53 GMT -7
Can you get a little more head room with a good clean boost? How much more volume do you need?
|
|
|
|
Post by jesslm02 on Jul 17, 2014 15:01:31 GMT -7
I know where the OP is coming from. I recently attended an outdoor party for the 4th and my buddy was playing one of my old ghias with a convertible 2x10 cab loaded with Z 10s. They ran out of mics so they weren't able to mic his amp. For pretty much the whole evening I could really hear his guitar. It was right at the breakup point and some of the older tunes required him to maintain some clean tones. Had he had the unleash things would have been completely different.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards
|
|
51d
Junior Member
Posts: 95
|
Post by 51d on Jul 19, 2014 2:33:45 GMT -7
Can you get a little more head room with a good clean boost? How much more volume do you need? Both a decent compressor and clean boost should offer more headroom. Although I would say this as this is what I run with my Ghia 25th...but the fact is, it works. |
|
|
|
Post by Brimstone on Aug 7, 2014 9:48:57 GMT -7
I have yet to have the little 1x10 Ghia not keep up. If I need something "over the edge", I just use a plain old Boss Blues Driver. For the most part I'm just plug n' play and if need be, use the brakelite as a "master" volume.
|
|
|
|
Post by bigrockandy on Aug 24, 2015 0:54:11 GMT -7
I've been using the unleash for about six months now. I love it and always play with it. Indoor outdoor small and large venues. Dynamics are great. I wAs using my MaZ 18 but is wasn't loud enough. Then I started using 2 MAZ 18's. Too complicated. Used my Antidote but it was too loud for some venues. Went through attenuators. Hot plate. brake lite. Marshall power brake (best for my purposes). Just too hard to find the sweet spot. Did a lot of research and wasn't too thrilled about the concept of reamping. But pulled the trigger on the Unleash and couldn't be happier. Now I run my delays and choruses in the loop and it's more controllable.
|
|
|
|
Post by John on Aug 24, 2015 3:45:46 GMT -7
I've been using the unleash for about six months now. I love it and always play with it. Indoor outdoor small and large venues. Dynamics are great. I wAs using my MaZ 18 but is wasn't loud enough. Then I started using 2 MAZ 18's. Too complicated. Used my Antidote but it was too loud for some venues. Went through attenuators. Hot plate. brake lite. Marshall power brake (best for my purposes). Just too hard to find the sweet spot. Did a lot of research and wasn't too thrilled about the concept of reamping. But pulled the trigger on the Unleash and couldn't be happier. Now I run my delays and choruses in the loop and it's more controllable. Ya needs a Remedy! (master volume...where the Antidote does not) I had a Marshall Powerbrake for years and years. As soon as I A/B'd it against the brakelite, I felt sorry for myself that I used the PB all those years. To my ears, the brakelite didn't change the tone and was WAY more percussive. I thought the PB was really compressive and knocked out all the mids. Of course, this is what my ears perceived. Everyone hears things different. |
|
|
|
Post by jb on Aug 24, 2015 11:37:55 GMT -7
I like the idea of getting a bigger amp for those gigs where you need more power. Since you like the Ghia, what about a Mazerati GT?
|
|
~ Ted in SF
